The Central Bank of Iceland has issued the speech of David Oddsson, the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Central Bank.
His speech is available in a pdf file here.
Comments are closed.
The Central Bank of Iceland has issued the speech of David Oddsson, the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Central Bank.
His speech is available in a pdf file here.
Comments are closed.
I think you can say anything you want Gray, its just the choise of words that can get you into trouble, 1 or 2 of my posts have also been deleted,
if this forum had no standards it would be full of rambling idiots and racists, no normal people would be interested in it, so be happy :)
i may have gone to far comparing David to Hitler
lets at least hope so.
Just to make the problem more clear, an example, Lenka:
‘Goebbels spend a lot of efforts on “moderating” German newspapers, too, you may like his work, too, Lenka.’
What do you think about this statement? No four letter words in it, so it’s ok for publication? Well, I don’t think so. You don’t have to use four letter words to be insulting. Such a comment shouldn’t be published.
“Gray I somehow managed to mix you and Peter up”
OK, this way this at least makes some sense.
But still, I think suggesting that any commenter here may like the racist crap that Hitler wrote really goes too far. Pls think twice before making such statements, Axel!
“this is not an open discussion board where you can insult and let the anger out”
Well, tell that to Axel in the first place, Lenka! His insult is ok, my response not? Sry, but imho there’s a double standard at work here.
I don’t know where their pure race came from as they have been mixing much before they came here with everyone they met on their way. That is why in Iceland you can see tall people with black hair and blue eyes, short people with blond hair and dark eyes, red hair with green eyes, and anything in between… ( son unos mil leches de mucho cuidado ( pa puro yo que soy medio vasco). You can also see people of very brown skin a lot in many icelandic lost villages. VIkings? come on!! I need a break!!. Remember the story of the guy telling me at a pub that icelanders were rich? Well, one day after another guy looked at me and said: “did you know that Hitler send some expeditions to Iceland to study the people because we are the perfect arians?”” I got so shocked!! Because that guy was really meaning what he was saying…
Were do they base their superiority of the arian race when “arians” are the antic inhabitants of the north of and east of Indian península and they had all black eyes and long black hair? Germans, well, nazis, just took the ideas from certain anthropologists and build up the story of the arian race. EVEN THE SVASTICA was a stolen symbol from budhist temples!!!
And then this ignorants go and call themselves ARIANS… hahahahaha… I don’t know where their cultural or genetic superiority is, when everyone knows that anything civilized they might have learnt came from basically from GREECE in the way we have it today ( Mathematics, Geometry, Philosophy, Theatre, etc…) Those folks were just dancing around a fire when we in the southern european countries were building roads, cities, buildings of perfect architecture, making perfect sculptures, writing the fundaments of philosophy, physics, etc… We developed knowledge at a point that we settled the bases for human civilization as it is today… HOW? because we got as far a India and took all the knowledge back home, learnt from everyone and mix with them. That is why, because we have never been closed to learn from other cultures and abandon our old wrong ideas… The main idea that greek abandoned as they got civilized enough was the idea that they were superior than other peoples. Then the romans expanded the civilization. They called Persians as persians, indians as indians, egyptians as egyptians, etc, etc… But how did they call the peoples up the northern part of germany and scandinavia? Barbarians, and they did so because they really believed those people were at a lower stage in human evolution. They thought of them more as “creatures” than as humans. But they recognized they could be trained to get civilized.
ONE STARTS BEING HUMAN WHEN ONE RECOGNIZES HUMANITY ITSELF IN ALL ITS DIVERSITY. But these people’s need of being superior, that is ignorance. What they did trying to be superior as believing themselves richer and more advanced than other countries, IGNORANCE. Such ignorance, the ideas of superiority, are always ending in nothing, in disaster. Because those ideas are based on FEAR AND HATE. HUMANS DO BETTER THAN THAT.
Well, You all know Iceland’s answer to the jews calling for help. Some dozens tried to make their way to Iceland from Norway to save their lives…. Do you know what Iceland did for them? NOTHING!! And even the few jews who lived here had to left the country under threatening. Only 3 or 4 could stay thanks to being married to icelanders or because of having friends influencing in politics. The new and watch the massacre and did NOTHING.
From the end of the WW II to 1959 Iceland put a condition to USA troops to be present on the country and it was NO TROOPS OF COLOUR on the country:
” The 1951 U.S.-Icelandic Defense Agreement paved the way for a permanent U.S. military presence at the Keflavik base in Iceland, an outpost that played a crucial role in U.S. strategy during the Cold War. The article explores two gender-related aspects of the U.S.-Icelandic Cold War relationship: the restrictions on off-base movements of U.S. soldiers, and the secret ban imposed by the Icelandic government on the stationing of black U.S. troops in Iceland. These practices were meant to “protect” Icelandic women and to preserve a homogeneous “national body.”
AND:
One of Iceland’s most enduring symbols is called Fjallkonan, or the Lady of the Mountain. And, like almost every Icelander, the Lady of the Mountain is white. When the editor of Iceland’s Grapevine Magazine decided to pose a black model in the traditional Lady of the Mountain costume, no one in Reykjavik would rent one to him. The magazine’s efforts to find the costume instigated a national conversation on immigration and race. NPR’s Scott Simon talks with Grapevine editor Valur Gunnarsson.
AND:
For example, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, a 2001 meeting on the International Convention on the Elmination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination. Some of the comments regarding Iceland at the meeting included the following:
5. With regard to article 4 of the Convention, section 180 of the General Penal Code made it a punishable act for a business or service operator to refuse to sell goods or services to a person on grounds of nationality, colour, race or religion. Section 233 (a) made it an offence to attack a person or group of persons in public by mockery, slander, insult, threats or other means on grounds of nationality, skin, colour, race or religion. Article 74 of the Constitution provided for the dissolution of associations whose purposes or methods were unlawful, a provision that would undoubtedly be applicable to an association advocating racial discrimination. The authorities were concerned, for example, by the activities of the Association of Icelandic Nationalists, a small group of young people who believed in the superiority of the Icelandic race and opposed any mixing with other races. They propagated their ideas mainly through an Internet Web site. Although the public response had generally been one of censure and disparagement, the authorities took the threat seriously. A recent interview in a major Icelandic newspaper, in which the leader of the group had made degrading comments about coloured people, had led to a heated public debate, particularly regarding media responsibility, and Parliament had discussed whether article 233 (a) of the General Penal Code had been violated. The Director of Public Prosecutions was considering whether to take action and a police investigation would probably be initiated.
AND:
9. Mr. LECHUGA HEVIA (Country Rapporteur) welcomed the adoption by Iceland of sections 180 and 233 (a) of the General Penal Code. Article 74 of the Constitution, which protected freedom of association, provided for the dissolution of associations considered to have unlawful objectives. But article 4 of the Convention made no mention of unlawful objectives; it required States parties to condemn all propaganda and all organizations based on ideas or theories of superiority of a particular race, to declare an offence punishable by law all dissemination of ideas based on racial hatred and to declare illegal and prohibit such organizations. According to the Icelandic Human Rights Centre, no public official or politician had made any statement concerning the activities of the Association of Icelandic Nationalists mentioned by the delegation. Article 4 was a key provision of the Convention and strict compliance with its letter and spirit was essential.
Racism in this country is not just “some individuals practice”, It is an institutional practice.
Thank you for this, Axel. I think the whole matter was actually a misunderstanding – something for which I am sorry.
Of course I know that writing short stories does not make a good politician. Also, I do think that people in Germany and elsewhere actually do make a difference between Iceland and Icelanders in general and the current difficult situation.
Sorry, I do not know … perhaps, I have not understood exactly: are you wanting to say that Mr. Oddsson wage is 22 million a month? This amount is more than euro 240000 a month until March 2008: it is a scandalous. And, now, Iceland is a ruined country: first, he would have to reduce his wage 30% – 40%; second, he must resign: the icelanders must go to the Central Bank building and take his head!! Incredible; what a shame. 22 million and he is responsible of a Central Bank, a Central Bank of a ruined country.
And, do the icelanders say nothing? Please, go to the streets; go to the Central Bank! Until he resigns.
I was ponting out that inspite of beeing able to write a few short storys does not make David a saint,
we are on a smaller scale going thru the same thing Germany went thru in the war only alot faster, our small army of ididots invaded europes markets and caused alot of damage, now we are all thieves like all Germans were nazis in peoples minds for a long time after the war, the economy is in ruins, people are fleeing the country because of unemployment and inflation, David refuses to accept any blame for anything inspite of being our PM for 13 years
and constantly keeps feeding people more bs
David now needs police escort if he goes anywhere
that should tell him that its time to quit,
he pays him self 22m isk a month, thats more than his collegue in USA gets, this amount is nowhere near anything we call reality here in Iceland but still no one says anything, somehow for some reason he can do anything he wants,
the point i wanted to make is how similar our situation is in some ways to what you know from your history,
not ment to offend you,
Axel, you can rest assured, I have no liking for anything that has to do with the so called ‘Third Reich’. Please take note.
WAKE UP, REVOLUTION NOW. WE CAN CONSTRUCT A NEW REALITY. This is all like a theatre, everything can be different and change. Lets construct democracy.
this is how my answer to Peter was supposed to be
“Peter (Germany) said:
What a remarkable and quite impressive speech!
I have been reading some of Oddsson’s short stories lately, by the way. It makes for great reading. I’ve even started to like this fellow.
Hitler was a writer too, you may like him to(o missing) Peter look into it.”
i did notice this mistake but i responded to Peters post, Gray had nothing to do with this
but i didnt see the possibility of Peter reading this wrong because of the missing o
hope i didnt cause a international dispute :)
Gray I somehow managed to mix you and Peter up,
my comment on the love Peter has for our David was intended for Peter, not you,
i just wrote your name by mistake,
i appologize for that.
Gus:
“Spain they went too far, people went on the streets last summer, transportation was on strike. They got scared, they saw collapse coming.”
Your message is very interesting but, I should emphasize that spanish strike – transportation – of last summer was not because banking collapse or something as well as has happened in Iceland; in fact, and it has been clear internationally, spanish banking system is of most solid of the world, and spanish Supervisory Authority is very watchman every day! Approved measures of supervision for years have been allowing that, although families strongly are become indebted, situation perfectly is controlled in main banks; Prime Minister has put at the disposal of the main banks Euro 350 billions, and was spoken until Euro 500bn, and they have not asked for money still.
Strike of last summer was because price of fuel: inflation raised to 5.2% ( July ), a level nonreached from 1992. In November, inflation is 2,5%, Minister of Economy spoke 2% in December, and 1% in May-June 2009, approximately.
Now, danger of the economies is deflation because of recession; deflation is worse than inflation.
Axel:
Those were, simply, rhetorical questions; anyway, thank you a lot, your answers always are enriching!
Gus
“The govern is corrupted.
The banks are corrupted.
The justice is corrupted.
REVOLUTION NOW!!! Lets put all those traitors in jail and take the power that belong to us!!”
Im with you on that Gus, the sooner the better.
From Spain
“Is nobody the person in charge, in Central Bank?”
no not really, David is busy writing shortstorys
and the creation of such intelectual masterpieces need all his attention, not that it really matters what he is focusing on.
“Are not there people in charge?”
no one dares to go against David, its his Central bank and he controls both the independence party and our PM
its a fact, no one would tell you othervise
but of course none of this is his fault
“Peter says John; John says Anne; Anne says Mary; Mary says Peter”
David says every one but me,
for every 1 negative report issued from the Central bank there are 10 positive ones, but of course now David can say “I told you so”
every thing he sais is comical in my mind
maybe like a shortstory.
” Is destroyed a WHOLE and, are not there responsibilities?”
Yes it is, modern politicians do not take blame for anything, they point fingers and refuse to resign, for example if you were a member of parliament and were convicted for stealing you could get a friend to clear your name (record) with a stroke of a pen after serving time in jail and be back in parliament in notime and also make sure no one can talk about it unless being threatened with legal action,
sad but true,
“There was not a whole, was it only a dream?”
there was until we sold the banks a few years ago
we had a great country based on strong economy
its in ruins now on a Titanic scale.
” Icelanders had been living a dream?”
Yes, until we sold the banks, then we were on drugs
now we are having a nightmare,
people talk about the resouces we have like energy, fish, nature, industry and oil,
i believe our most poverful resources are the people themselves, i think we will see how small the politicians and Central bank governers really are very soon
Grey, sorry if i p*ssed you off :)
Germany+Hitler=explosion, something to be expected given that he ruined you country, your economy and your countrys reputation,
i just dont like David very much,
much like 90% of the nation according to polls.
if you look at the chain of events recently starting with the nationilization of Glitnir you will probably see that the next big mistake made by David is not far away, the only question is will we survive it ?
Orchafine: No, they did not have the power. Icelandic society has lost it democratic ground. Not only Iceland, but almost the rest of the world. People has lost the power. Power is on the hands of the new absolutist rules (no, I am not talking about Chavez or Fidel Castro) I am talking about new models of absolutism. Bank owners around the world had slavered people and they control politics now. It is all about money and power. This is called NEW WORLD ORDER. This is a big MAFIA, a secret society of power. They control the banks, they control religion. At the top of most of religious organizations there is someone who is controlled by them. There is no real democracy.
Icelandic politics have sold their nation and put it into slavery. This was a project, not a casualty. Icelanders just are in the tramp. They play with people, with the media, making people believe things are that way and not the other way. They are very careful with how much they take advantage of a society. In Spain they went too far, people went on the streets last summer, transportation was on strike. They got scared, they saw collapse coming. Icelandic collapse is part of their plan. It is icelanders collapse to ensure they become slavers for decades. That is how they work. Slavering societies here and there. This goverment should be put in JAIL by icelandic population for traitors, for selling this nation so cheap, they have been filling their pockets and bank accounts (in Switzerland) and they have sold and betrayed the whole nation. Icelandic bankers ( who want to be part of the elite power of the NWW) have also sold and betrayed this country and its people. They, both govern and bankers, have not been thinking about the progress of this nation and its people. REVOLUTION NOW!. The power is of the people. Icelandic population is the only sovereign ruler of this land. Democratically.
NEW RULES OF DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION.
Icelanders are the only owners of this nations resources.
People like them should be sent out of the country.
The govern is corrupted.
The banks are corrupted.
The justice is corrupted.
REVOLUTION NOW!!! Lets put all those traitors in jail and take the power that belong to us!!
Central bank of Iceland maintained exchange rate, artificially, on last years: a relax, slowly, would not have come badly. Perhaps, it would have influenced in inflation but, this one was in scaling years ago: it has not had european standards.
Really, it was a complicated situation; work of Central bank of Iceland, three main banks dynamited it with loans. These banks motivated, strongly, the credit, and therefore the inflation; Central bank was incapable to do the work. What to do? It was a very rare and complicated situation: there’re not many countries with GDP far below to the main banks. It was the most particular situation; Supervisor Authority had to take VERY particular measures.
Money and ambition won.
Yes, it seems that begins to confirm itself, different sources, situation of the Icelandic currency is going to be dramatic in short term. And, although I would wish not to believe it, apparently ISK 300 against Euro is unbeatable short term, something horrible for the economy, something dramatic for the Icelanders.
Is nobody the person in charge, in Central Bank?
Are not there people in charge?
Peter says John; John says Anne; Anne says Mary; Mary says Peter.
Is destroyed a WHOLE and, are not there responsibilities?
There was not a whole, was it only a dream?
Icelanders had been living a dream?
The question, is could the government have done some thing? Did they have enough power?
NO COMMENTS
http://www.ecb.int/stats/exchange/eurofxref/html/index.en.html
@Mike,
great reading.
Did not know about Oddson’s warnings before, but his appearance at that TV show was such utter nonsense, that he should resign for that alone. If there is a job for which tight lips and cool head are needed, is such job being the head of the central bank. The fact that he gave that interview at all is disturbing, the things he said are inexcusable.
And, since it is obvious that the problems are long-standing and were beyond the influence of the CB (and government did obviously nothing to counter the highly problematic trends), the government should be sacked as well.
“Feelings of the Icelanders are not favorable to Oddsson: quite the opposite. Therefore, your words are a contradición.”
Again, I am sorry I don’t quite get your point. Surely you do not want to suggest that I have to agree with everything that is being said by the Icelandic public. I have got my own opinions, and I am not afraid of saying so. In other words: Just because many people in Iceland think that Oddsson is an idiot I do not necessarily have to agree. It’s neither forbidden nor morally wrong to have a different opinion. (Nota bene: I am as yet not saying Oddsson is a good politician.)
“If you like Iceland and the Icelanders, perhaps you would have to also say that he made an evil work, and that, perhaps, he writes; he, or who writes the speeches to him!!”
As I said: The jury is still out on that. It is obvious that grave mistakes have been made. But it’s far from obvious who actually was responsible for these mistakes. That’s why there will be an independent inquiry.
I really think you just misinterpreted my words. Maybe my phrasing wasn’t quite precise enough. I apologize for that.
To Spain:
Sorry, but my remark about Oddsson as an author of books was actually just a side note. It was certainly not meant to provoke anyone. I just don’t understand how you come to believe that. I actually bought a book of short stories by Oddsson just the other day basically because the whole Icelandic turmoil has made me aware of the fact that he has written some short stories. And I am sorry to say so but I enjoyed reading them.
So, please take note: I am certainly in no mood to provoke anyone here.
As for Gordon Brown: He has actually studied History at the University of Edinburgh where he got a PhD after completing a study on ‘The Labour Party and Political Change in Scotland 1918-29’. His latest book to which I was referring is ‘Wartime Courage: Stories of Extraordinary Courage by Ordinary People in World War Two’. It’s from 2007. You can go and buy it at Amazon.co.uk.
Gus
Everybody new they need 800M trait away just for the currency.
Mike
Very well exposed.
To Peter
Yes, it was a provocation; I have understood your provocation, everybody has understood your provocation.
Mr. Oddsson is not Head of the Central Bank of Iceland to sell books in the bookstores; he is in Central Bank so that inflation in Iceland does not raise more than 4% ; he is to say, clearly, what was happening in the Icelandic economy, what was happening in the banking system, what was happening with exchange rate, what was happening with the loans, what was happening with the economy of Iceland. He does not recibe an important pay so that inflation in Iceland raises until 14,5% before banking crisis; he does not receive an important pay so that others say solely ” it makes for great reading “. It is a provocation to the Icelanders because the Icelanders live dark days, and will live many stormy days.
” Gordon Brown actually is an author of historical books. ”
If this is truth, I should live in a world of dreams and, in fact, I should be dreaming !!
” And I certainly did not want to provoke Icelanders with my statement. It was a personal and spontaneous remark after I have read Oddsson’s speech where he seemed to make some interesting remarks. I’ve stated repeatedly that I have very positive feelings towards Iceland and Icelanders indeed. ”
Feelings of the Icelanders are not favorable to Oddsson: quite the opposite. Therefore, your words are a contradición. If you like Iceland and the Icelanders, perhaps you would have to also say that he made an evil work, and that, perhaps, he writes; he, or who writes the speeches to him!!
URGENT!!! From secret resources!!! Icelandic govern started BURNING Part of the loans received in trying to strength the króna in the open market before it gets to be floated again. They try to make traders belief that confidence is growing between traders. BUT IS NOT WORKING, They might have burned USA 0.5 BILLION in just one day!!!!! and the króna keeps into acelerating weakening. ECB today stated EURO= 275 isk!!! It seems to be 3, 4 or more prices in the open market. No one is below 275isk euro. As the króna gets floated the icelandic central bank will burn up to 3.5 billion USA in one week. But it wont even work. ICB strategy is a all at once confrontation, a battle that is foreseen to be lost. FURTHER DEPRECIATION OF ICELANDIC KRÓNA INEVITABLE. ISK will be around 300isk=euro for the most part of the first semester 2009.
I’m enjoying this blog, makes a change from “zipping the blips” (a.k.a. arbitrage).
Davið Oddsson has had a very bad press in Iceland recently. As a Central Bank Governor I happen to think the guy is pretty blameless (as the previous Prime Minister he carries a whole stack of blame). But let’s stick with him as Governor.
This speech is strikingly similar to ones he has been giving over the last year or two. Go and look them up on the Bank’s web pages. Also look up his answers to questions. He has consistently warned about the three commercial banks and their funding strategies.
His good points are first that the regulatory framework was set by the government, not the Central Bank. In this case Iceland followed the crowd and split off regulation from the CB and gave it to the FME (a mistake in my view, but one repeated elsewhere, e.g. in the UK). This left the CB toothless as a regulator. His second good point is that the only target the bank had was inflation and the only instrument left in the hands of the CB was monetary policy. But this policy was totally undermined from two directions – the housing finance fund, and the commercial banks. The housing fund just ignored the interest rate set by the CB and carried on issuing index-linked, low interest rate mortgages. One state organisation (HFF) happily undermined another (CB). (The HFF confused its role as a social provider with that of a commercial organisation.) To gain market share the banks matched the HFF when issuing mortgages and went further by issuing foreign currency denominated loans for other consumer purchases. Oddsson’s point is that the CB was totally powerless to stop those developments. The result – in the jargon – was that monetary policy was poorly transmitted into the general Icelandic economy. Or in plain English – the use of increasing interest rates to soak up excess cash in an overheating economy, and thereby limit inflation, just didn’t work. HFF and the banks just kept financing the Icelandic party. (In a report I wrote at the time I likened this to a house on fire. The CB was the fire brigade, but they had no water. The HFF and the three banks helped out by throwing petrol onto the house!)
Oddsson made two mistakes as I see it. When the three banks started participating in the issuance of ISK denominated bonds (not as principals but as agents and counterparties) the ISK was artificially driven higher. The threat was that if these loans unwound then the ISK would rapidly depreciate and inflation would appear in Iceland. So Oddsson went live and said (at the beginning of 2007 I think – need to check) that the CB would not allow the ISK to depreciate and would use interest rates to keep it up. (He might have done this because he realised that normal monetary policy wasn’t working.) This was a BIG mistake. It gave the green light to speculators and carry-traders (people who borrow a low-interest currency, and swap into a high-interest currency and reap the difference – works OK with stable currencies!) and all throughout 2007 many traders milked Iceland because of this implicit guarantee to support the currency. The mistake was confusing inflation-targetting with currency-support. They’re related but not that closely.
His second mistake was going on TV at the very end. Icelanders frequently make the mistake in assuming that no one else understands Icelandic. Well, that’s wrong guys, we listen to every word. Oddsson was clearly speaking to a domestic audience but far far away many of us fell off our seats listening to him. It was the most outrageous/stupid/ill-conceived (carry on filling the adjectives) interview I’ve ever heard from the Governor of a Central Bank. That speech, the Emergency Finance Act and the lack of clarity over meeting deposit-guarantees were the three things that did for Iceland at the very end. It was all going to end in tears anyway but the country might have avoided the IMF and its crippling conditions if everyone in Iceland had shown a modicum of humility, thrown up your hands and accepted responsibility. The Nordics and EU would have been very happy to play the part of “generous neighbour” but Icelandic pride got in the way of that graceful demise. Now you’re stuffed for the next five years (at a miniumum).
Anyway, getting off topic. Back to Oddsson. My opinion is that as Governor he was told what to say by the technical specialists standing behind him. By and large they did as good a job as they could (barring the currency support idea), and Oddsson played his role to perfection. His Kastljos appearance was clearly unscripted, he shot from the hip and caused mayhem.
Finally, what about Oddsson as PM? Well, that’s another story. Two examples. He was responsible for setting up the regulatory framework in the first place. ‘nough said! Secondly: privatisation of Landsbanki. Almost certainly a corrupt process. It was at that point that the Icelandic people should have been demonstrating outside the Althing. But they let it pass with a shrug and carried on voting in the Independence Party (that isn’t a political point, more of a sociological observation). The entire privatisation process was a disaster but Landsbanki was the sign to everyone outside Iceland that this was only going to have one outcome. And here we are.
“Hitler was a writer too, you may like him to Gray”
It seems I did not even notice the comparison with Gray. I really think this is rather out of place, don’t you think?
I am sorry: I was referring to Axel, not to Alex. Apologies!
“‘Tell me what things you are conceited and I will say to you what things you lack’ : he learned good english but, he read very few books. A man who has read many books, good literature, does not say that Brown is a writer! When comparing Churchill with Hitler, even only in the literary scope, denotes his intellectual poverty. And we do not imagine to compare Churchill with Hitler in other aspects: it would be a joke!!! It is just like to go to wikipedia to learn exchange rates – some days ago -, “do you remembers?!!!””
I am sorry but I am afraid you did not quite understand what I was trying to say. Alex’ comparison was senseless, that was the whole point of my statement.
Gordon Brown actually is an author of historical books. They are, by the way, not all that bad. Churchill’s books are known to literature of the highest standing.
And I certainly did not want to provoke Icelanders with my statement. It was a personal and spontaneous remark after I have read Oddsson’s speech where he seemed to make some interesting remarks. I’ve stated repeatedly that I have very positive feelings towards Iceland and Icelanders indeed. I actually love this country which is by the way the reason why I got involved in these discussions in the first place.
Gray, it was me who deleted the comment. I did ask for good language in the past and insulting and racist comments will not be approved.
Sorry, this is not an open discussion board where you can insult and let the anger out, this is commenting on the topic of the article.
Thanks everyone for understanding and for reading IceNews.
Lenka, IceNews editor
Dear Icenews editors (Alex?)
It’s your choice not to publish my response to “Axel” and to “from SPAIN”. But may I direct your attention to this statement by Axel “Hitler was a writer too, you may like him to Gray”, as posted here:
https://www.icenews.is/index.php/2008/11/24/speech-by-david-oddsson-chairman-of-the-board-of-governors/#comment-51959
Actually, I’m a bit surprised that you let this pass. Ok, we’re having a very open discussion at the discussion boards, and I’m certainly not a douchebag, but implying I have anything in common with Hitler really goes too far. So, pls apply the same standards to all. If you don’t publish my comment, then delete the one by Axel, too.
Thx, and best regards
Gray
When he – Peter – says this, it is a provocation to the Icelanders, in these dark days for them.
‘Tell me what things you are conceited and I will say to you what things you lack’ : he learned good english but, he read very few books. A man who has read many books, good literature, does not say that Brown is a writer! When comparing Churchill with Hitler, even only in the literary scope, denotes his intellectual poverty. And we do not imagine to compare Churchill with Hitler in other aspects: it would be a joke!!! It is just like to go to wikipedia to learn exchange rates – some days ago -, “do you remembers?!!!”
By the way, his english is very good; since he did not read good Literature, he learned something good at least!!?
Well, yes Axel. So what? As far as I know Churchill was a writer, too, and so is Douglas Hurd and even the British Prime Minister of today, Gordon Brown.
This was just a personal comment about Oddsson. I did not mean to imply that David Oddsson is a good politician or banker. I think the jury is still out on that one.
Peter (Germany) said:
What a remarkable and quite impressive speech!
I have been reading some of Oddsson’s short stories lately, by the way. It makes for great reading. I’ve even started to like this fellow.
Hitler was a writer too, you may like him to Gray
look into it.
TWR
It could be a pacific revolution, as Icelanders are use to it and doing right now.
Gunnar, don’t mention word ‘revolution’… Usually it comes with blood, great suffering of the nation and complete collapse of economy.
You don’t need revolution when early elections are enough.
But I agree on ‘Afram Island’ part :)
His speech is baloney. It was meant to fool the people again to save their skins. We need a revolution. Kick him out and his cronies and replace the leadership of Iceland. Afram Island.
What a remarkable and quite impressive speech!
I have been reading some of Oddsson’s short stories lately, by the way. It makes for great reading. I’ve even started to like this fellow.
Shining, romantic, practical, comprehensive, hopeful speech!
Central Bank knew it, and, you knew it, and the warning was done. But, you did not warn with necessary forcefulness and roundness that so burdens and dangerous subject required: silence or average words, in good times, also can be complicities in stormy weather. Monster could eat the pie of the children! Central Bank and YOU did know it, and both warned. But warning was not sufficient but a strong and forceful way, you had to explain what urgent measures were necessary to take, and what storm was next: Government, Central bank and everybody watched outside; it was the time in which rained money, and neither engine nor ambition could pause.
Central bank knew inflation was uncontrolled before banking crisis. Interest rates would not straighten the situation, failures were absolute; thus on last years. It has been an evident thing for years. Inflation has not been controlled with rates – inflation can not be controlled with rates -, if Icelanders are going to request loans in Yen, Swiss francs, … : celebration would follow.
You did know economic and financial situation in Iceland was a precipice!